


By Your Side

by PyroQueenOfFire



Category: The A-Team (2010)
Genre: Also it can be super sappy at times, F/M, Hopefully over here the more graphic chapters won't be deleted, I just really missed this story and had to move it from FF, There is language and death in here too, There is sex in this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-06
Updated: 2016-06-09
Packaged: 2018-07-12 16:57:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,907
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7114477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PyroQueenOfFire/pseuds/PyroQueenOfFire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Anna Smith is Col. Hannibal Smith's daughter and madly in love with Lt. Faceman Peck. She's become an honorary member of the A-Team, and now she has to help to save her country and figure out how to deal with her men in the process.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Agent Anna Smith

**Author's Note:**

> This story is graphic in a lot of ways, be it the gore, the deaths, or the sex, so not for the faint of heart.

If the first sound the brunette heard that morning was going to be anything, she did not want it to be her cell phone going off. She reached over to the nightstand and grabbing it, feeling it vibrating in her hand as she flipped the top open, and pushed her hair out of her face with her other hand. If there was one thing that 23 year-old Anna Smith knew, it was to always answer her phone no matter what—unless you were in a life or death situation where silence was the only way to go. In that case, why would you have your phone’s sound on in the first place unless you were suicidal?

“Hello?” She answered tiredly, yawning a little and sitting up, fluffing her hair a little and keeping her eyes closed as she tried to join the world again more consciously.

The man on the other end chuckled. “Morning, Sweetheart.”

“Dad!” Anna said happily, smiling and feeling a lot more awake as her eyes sprang open. “It’s been a while, how are you?”

“Just got out of a mission with the boys and I wanted to check in.” He explained to her.

Col. John ‘Hannibal’ Smith, or Hannibal as he took to being known as, hadn’t ever thought about falling in love and settling down and having children—so he never did. He did, however, make a decision he had deemed as a mistake once upon a time and along came Anna, the little girl he never thought he wanted but grew to love and dote on. When her mother passed away, Anna lived with her aunt and uncle for a time and then she went off to college and joined the FBI.

She was a bright girl and she was always top of her class—she graduated High School at 16—and the FBI was glad to have her. The thing that she hadn’t really banked on was her father being in charge of his own Alpha team in the military—she hadn’t banked on her father being so amazing at what he did. In fact on top of that, she’d never banked on falling in love with a member of her father’s A-Team, Lt. Templeton ‘Faceman’ Peck—or Face as she so affectionately called him.

“Well I’m glad you did. I actually have a little down time between missions of my own so maybe you’d like to meet up and grab something to eat?” She asked him, tossing her covers off and standing up, yawning again.

Hannibal smiled and nodded. “I’m free for dinner if you are, Anna.”

“I’m free as a bird all day long—call me when you get in, Dad.” Anna said with a grin. “I love you.”

“You too, Sweetheart.” Hannibal said nodding. “Bye for now.”

“Bye, Dad.” Anna responded, smiling at her phone after she hung it up and then looking up abruptly as she heard a ‘thunk’ on her window.

Anna hurried to it in her tank and pajama pants, shaking her head and laughing as she pulled the curtain back to see Face tossing rocks at her window. He smiled up at her from his stance on the lawn and watched as she opened up the window of the small town house and leaned on the windowsill, cocking her head to one side. Her warm eyes were twinkling and her curls were a mess, but at the same time she was just as beautiful as she had been when he left her last.

The thing about Face and Anna was that Face wasn’t in love with her—he thought of her as the only girl he’d ever been able to call a friend. He had been in a relationship with Charisa Sosa, and he was convinced that she was coming back to him even though Anna and the others had their doubts. In fact it was his relationship with Sosa that made Anna fall so madly in love with him…he had proven he wasn’t the ladies man he used to be because he’d fallen in love and wanted a future and Sosa had run from it and now simply treated him like dirt and Anna didn’t _want_ her to come back.

Besides, even if Face hadn’t gone for Sosa in the first place, he wouldn’t have been able to go for Anna—she was his boss’ daughter. She was beautiful and strong and independent, but Hannibal was incredibly protective of her and Face wasn’t going to get on his bad side. Anna Smith was off limits and his attraction to her had to be kept in check and so he’d let her in as a friend and he was fond of her…he was _attached_ to her even though he wasn’t going to pursue her romantically.

“So, how is it that you’re already here but Dad isn’t yet?” Anna asked him, cocking her head to one side.

Face shrugged and smiled up at her with that grin that made her knees weak. “Maybe he has some things to take care of and all I have to do is take you out to breakfast.”

“What if I have a date for breakfast already, Face?” Anna asked him with a cheeky smile and a shrug.

“You don’t.” Face replied, shrugging back at her. “Trust me, I know.”

Anna rolled her eyes and laughed playfully. “You don’t know anything about me, Face.”

“Just grab a coat and get down here so we can go eat.” Face said as he turned to head to the car.

Anna laughed and looked down at her ensemble as Face opened up his car door and started laughing, Face turning to her and leaning on the car. Her laugh always made him feel like he was safe and wanted and he couldn’t help but grin some more as she motioned to her outfit. Honestly he felt like she looked great, but he had a feeling that she had some kind of cheeky comeback she wanted to try out on him and he was ready and willing for her to say something.

“I can’t just go in my pajamas and have you seen my hair this morning?” Anna asked shaking her head.

Face shrugged and crossed his arms over his chest. “You look beautiful, Anna—now get your cute butt down here.”

Anna rolled her eyes. “Is it just us, or are Bosco and Murdock joining us?”

“Just us.” Face replied with a nod.

Anna nodded and went away from the window, grabbing her tight jeans and a cute top since it would just be her and Face. She was actually a big fan of Cpl. Bosco ‘B.A.’ Baracus and of Murdock, but she enjoyed her alone time with Face even though she knew there would never actually be any dating between them. They had their flirting and they were friends so they knew a lot about each other, so it was really worth the risk as far as Anna was concerned.

“Hurry up, Slowpoke!” Face called from the driveway.

Anna got ready in ten minutes—dressed, teeth brushed, hair combed and everything—and Face took her to a nearby diner. He wasn’t allowed to tell her too much about the mission he’d been on with Hannibal, Bosco and Murdock, but he told her a little bit and then asked about her. It felt rather weird for him because he wasn’t used to caring and sharing this much with women, but at the same time it felt kind of natural.

“I’m surprised you went for pancakes when you could have had eggs.” Anna said, stealing a bite of pancake off of his plate and laughing when he went to smack her hand. “Way to hit a girl, Face—you’re so abusive.”

Face rolled his eyes. “You could totally hold your own against me so I really don’t see a problem with hitting you for stealing my food—in the wild I’d fight you.”

“In the wild you’d have brought me the food and we’d prolly just mate and get it over with.” Anna replied, laughing a little when Face looked a little shocked.

She’d always had a mouth on her, but he hadn’t expected the last statement to come out of her mouth and soon he was laughing too. Then they finished up their breakfast and took a walk in the park, Face glancing at her and nodding as she told him about her partner on her last mission. Like him, the details weren’t allowed to be discussed, but he kind of enjoyed hearing about how much she disliked the last pairing she had been part of against her will.

“He was just incompetent.” Anna said shrugging, looking at Face and blushing a little bit. “A little like you only not as cool.”

Face rolled his eyes and pushed on her shoulder. “I hate you.”

“I hate you so much more.” Anna replied as she pushed on his shoulder back. “So why’d you _really_ come and see me, Face? I figured you’d be trying to come up with some kind of scheme to get Sosa back or something.”

“No…no I’m done with that.” Face admitted with a nod, the smile off of his face. “I kind of realized that she’s not coming back. I thought she might, but she won’t.”

Anna reached out and took his hand, giving it a squeeze and knowing that she wasn’t going to ever not be by his side. Face smiled at her and then found himself lacing his fingers with hers, Anna trying her hardest not to let him know that the gesture gave her a little bit of hope. It was purely friendship from his end and she respected that, but for some reason she felt like she might have an in every time he showed her slightly flirtatious behavior.

“I want ice cream.” Anna told him suddenly.

Face rolled his eyes at her again. “God, you’re _always_ eating.”

“I hate you.” Anna said playfully, dragging him over to an ice cream vendor, still holding his hand.

“You adore me.” Face replied as he pulled out some money with his free hand, Anna just smiling because he really didn’t understand how true that was.


	2. Catching Up

While taking a nice stroll in the park with their ice cream cones, Face had seen an attractive blonde he wanted to hit on, so Anna had left him to it even though it hurt her a little, and she’d gone back to her house. She checked in with Headquarters and then grabbed her iPod and took a quick jog, coming back to her house to take a shower. When she entered her house, sweaty and feeling accomplished, she took to stripping off her clothes as she went up the stairs, dropping the pile into the hamper and turning the shower on upon entering her bathroom.

She pulled the hair band out of her hair, letting the ponytail out, fluffing her dark hair and looking at her reflection in the mirror a moment before she stepped into the shower. The warm water slid down her body as she put her face under the faucet, holding her breath a moment and then just taking her shower. She really couldn’t dwell on Face running off after some blonde that he just wanted in the pants of…she had to shake it off and get things together so that she could see her father.

In fact it had been a few months since Anna and Hannibal had seen each other last—they’d both been incredibly busy as of late and that was part of why Anna was so excited. Anna had never held it against her father that he had never really wanted a kid or that he had never loved her mother because Anna understood his life. He was a nomad and he was incredibly loyal to his country and the only thing that mattered to Anna was that her father had always been there for her when she needed him—wasn’t that all that mattered?

He always called her on her birthday, he stood up for her, he boasted about her, he gave her money when she needed it; sometimes on rare occasions they even worked together. Hannibal had stepped up to responsibility when he found out that Anna was going to be born, and he’d even helped to name her…he’d come up with the name ‘Anna’ and that was what she was christened just so that she’d always have her father with her in a way. Anna and Hannibal understood their relationship and now that Anna was old enough to understand even better her father’s need to sometimes be far from her, their relationship was even stronger.

Anna smiled a little when she got out of the shower, wringing the water out of her hair and then heading to her room with the towel wrapped around her. She got some clothes out of her closet that were semi formal, got dressed, then headed down to the kitchen to make herself some lunch. When she felt fed and clean, she styled her hair and then her phone rang, Anna looking at the cover and rolling her eyes. The laugh that escaped her came out whether she wanted it to or not and she answered her phone, setting the curling iron down on the edge of the sink and glancing in the mirror again at her 90% done hairdo.

“You already get lucky, Face? You know, _some_ women like sex to last _longer_ than two minutes.” Anna teased him.

Face chuckled and nodded. “Turned out she had a boyfriend and I wasn’t handsome enough to sway her. What have you been up to? I’ve called you like three times, Anna.”

“I’m getting ready for dinner with Dad.” Anna admitted with a shrug. “I also checked in with Headquarters and I didn’t realize that you were so clingy.”

“I’m not clingy, I am bored—there is a _huge_ difference.” Face replied and then nodded as she laughed. “Can I come over until your dad shows?”

“I don’t care if you do.” Anna told him softly, smiling into the mirror. “Lucky you I already got out of the shower and got dressed.”

Face snapped his fingers. “Damn!”

“Just get your ass over here, Face.” Anna ordered playfully before she hung up on him.

Face chuckled and nodded, hanging up after she did and pocketing his phone, knocking on her door. He had been waiting right outside her house for a good ten minutes or so and when Anna answered the door she was shaking her head at him. Anna was pretty certain that he’d just been waiting and it didn’t bother her, so she motioned for him to come in and swatted his hand as he tugged on a curl.

“Hey! Stop trying to ruin the do.” She told him, pushing on his shoulder. “I’m not even done yet.”

Face nodded at her. “Yeah, I can see that. You look beautiful by he way.”

“Thanks, Face.” Anna said sincerely, heading up to her bathroom and smiling as she went straight for the curling iron and Face went to sit on the side of the tub she’d already cleaned out from her shower before—that was lucky because otherwise she’d be embarrassed to have him in the bathroom with her.

Face watched her as she curled the last few sections and then ran her fingers through them, breaking the curls up and yet making it look so much better than before. Her hair was soft and he wanted to run his fingers through it and admit to her that she was really the only friend he had outside of the A-Team, but he couldn’t…he was already too close. Besides, holding her hand earlier had almost crossed over the line and he had to make sure that their relationship stayed purely platonic no matter what.

“I think you’re more attractive with bed head.” Face teased her, trying to lighten the moment and get his focus back by bantering with her instead of gazing at her with all that admiration and care.

Anna gave him a look. “I don’t see how women find you charming at all.”

“What?” Face asked her laughing. “I just gave you a compliment!”

“In what universe?!” Anna asked him as she laughed too. “Help me pick out shoes.”

“Oh, God no.” Face said shaking his head. “No, no, no—I draw the line there.”

Anna reached her hand out to him after unplugging the curling iron and leaving it on the edge of the sink to cool down, Face sighing and closing his eyes. He pouted a little but kept his eyes closed as he reached out to take her hand, not catching the fond little smirk that settled on Anna’s face at how adorable he looked when he pouted. Then she dragged him into her room and he sat on her bed, watching her as she knelt down and pulled out some shoes, trying them on and asking his opinion. Face just went along with it because even though he didn’t really want to, he was glad just to spend some time with her away from blowing things up, killing people, stealing things and fighting…this was a nice and calming way to spend his down time.

xx

“Dad!” Anna called out merrily when she spotted him walking over to the table that he had reserved for them at the restaurant.

He smiled and embraced her when she stood up and hugged him, stroking her hair and breathing in her scent: coffee, cucumber melon, vanilla, and a hint of pine. There was always a hint of _something_ mixed with her coffee, cucumber melon and vanilla smell—vanilla from her lotion, cucumber melon from her shampoo and body wash, and coffee from her need to ingest it like oxygen. Sometimes she even just snacked on chocolate covered espresso beans and Hannibal thought it was one of those quirks that she had gotten from him.

The two of them always felt like they needed to be doing something—needed to have something to keep their mouths occupied. For Hannibal it was his cigars, and for Anna it was either chocolate covered espresso beans or gum. On the whole Anna was more like her mother, but she definitely had her father’s need for a thrill, his uncanny ability to come up with crazy plans and see them through to the reward at the end, and his amazing stamina and fighting prowess—she was her father’s daughter.

“I’ve really missed you.” Anna admitted, smiling as he kissed her forehead and then they both went to take their seats and look over the menu. “Your last mission, from what I hear, was kind of intense.”

Hannibal nodded and looked at her. “Face tell you that?”

“Of course he did—out of your entire team, the two of you who actually make it a point to keep me in the loop are you and Face.” Anna responded with a shoulder shrug. “All that matters to me is that the four of you make it out alive every time—especially you.”

“Don’t worry, Anna—I’m not going anywhere.” Hannibal promised her, reaching out and grasping her hand across the table. “I promise you that.”

Anna smiled a little and nodded. “At least not any time soon, and I’m thankful for that. The lasagna looks good, by the way.”

“It most certainly does.” Hannibal replied with a nod, coughing softly and then glancing at Anna.

“Fine.” Anna said waving her hand and then shaking her head and laughing as Hannibal pulled out a cigar and ran it under his nose.

Hannibal had gotten them a table in the smoking section even though he knew how Anna felt about his habit. At least _her_ habits didn’t have her at risk for lung disease, but then again she knew that it was a habit her father was never going to change so she let him. He thought her chocolate covered espresso beans were rather disgusting so the two of them were going to have to compromise. Still, she wouldn’t be Anna if she didn’t tease her father about the kind of repercussions that came from his smoking.

“Your secondhand smoke kills, Dad.” She told him with a laugh as he lit up the cigar. “Cuban, I assume?”

Hannibal laughed heartily. “Only the best. If this is what’s going to kill me, I might as well go down with the best.”

“You’re incorrigible.” Anna said shaking her head.

“Well you had to have gotten the trait from somewhere.” Hannibal pointed out, both of them looking up at the waiter as he came to the table. “We’ll start off with some artichoke and spinach dip…and some onion rings.”

Anna laughed and nodded. “Also some mozzarella sticks—slightly crispier than you usually make them, but not _too_ crispy.”

“And some red wine—your finest bottle.” Hannibal added with a nod.

The waiter nodded and smiled at Anna, Anna noticing that look in Hannibal’s eyes as he caught the flirtatious glance. Somehow the waiter had decided that the wine meant that she was on a date and that he had an in because he was closer to her age than Hannibal was. Anna shot her father a warning glance when he puffed smoke in the waiter’s direction, shaking her head and then smiling up at the waiter as he asked them if there was anything else that he could do for them…looking directly at Anna as he said it so she knew he had an ulterior motive.

“Wait about thirty minutes after serving the appetizers to bring us two steaks—his medium rare and mine well done.” She instructed with a smile. “Anything else, Dad?”

Hannibal gave her a look because she’d just given the waiter an extra in. “I think that’s good, Sweetheart—we’ll talk desert once we’re eating the steak.”

“Then that’s it for now, thank you.” Anna told the waiter politely and then looked at her father as he puffed on his cigar and looked right back at her. “He was _just_ flirting, Dad.”

“Flirting leads to other things and you’re _way_ too good for him.” Hannibal replied with a shrug. “I’m thinking sundaes for desert.”

“I’m thinking I got my eating habits from _you_.” Anna said laughing, then she shot her father an ‘I’m sorry’ look as her phone rang and she had to answer it—it was Headquarters, so it was important.

This was one of the _many_ reasons why Anna always answered her phone when it rang—you knew something was wrong if she didn’t. She had an important job, and her father had an important job, and the phone was the best way to communicate. Anna flipped her phone open after she’d gone into the bathroom, checked all of the stalls and locked herself in. She needed to have her privacy when it came to getting new missions, and she knew there was only so much she could say out loud.

“I take it my little bit of time off is over?” Anna asked gently.

Her boss chuckled at her and he nodded. “Yeah…yeah it is. It seems that there’s a problem that’s a little outside of our jurisdiction, but we need one of our own men on the job. I’ll send you the information here momentarily—we need your father and his team to front this. You can do that for us, right, Agent Smith?”

“Yeah I can.” Anna replied as she held in a giggle—she and Face always joked about how she should have been in the Matrix instead of Hugo Weaving. “I’m actually at dinner with him right now, so I’ll get back to you.”

Anna hung up the phone and fixed her hair in the mirror, unlocking the bathroom door and heading out of it, going straight back to the table. They were going to finish dinner if Anna had any say in the matter, but at the same time she knew she had to bring this up with her father sooner rather than later. He looked up at her and puffed his cigar, cocking his head to one side and crossing his arms over his chest as she took a deep breath and leaned on the table, folding her hands in front of her.

“Promise me that no matter what I say we’re going to eat every single bit of food we ordered _and_ the sundaes.” Anna said pointedly.

Hannibal chuckled and nodded to assure her that he promised. “What is it that you need me to do for you this time, Kiddo?”


	3. It's Always Been This Way

“Face, this is no time to show off.” Anna told him, the playfulness in her voice less so there than normal. “We have a job to do.”

Bosco laughed a bit. “This fool jokes around even _during_ the mission—you get used to it after a while.”

“What a joker.” Anna said as she looked at Face, him shrugging at her as she put in an earpiece. “Where’s Murdock?”

Anna had everything set up for the mission, waiting for her father to contact her _and_ waiting for a sign from Murdock. Murdock, though not as close to her as Face and Hannibal, was definitely Anna’s favorite member of the A-Team—he was spontaneous and adorable, and he never thought that any of Anna’s ideas were crazy. Then again, after looking over some of her father’s plans that they’d executed in the past, none of hers could even be _considered_ ‘crazy’.

“Hopefully coming up with an escape plan that _doesn’t_ involve an aircraft.” Bosco replied with a shudder.

Anna rested her hand on the shoulder her father had shot so long along. “Someday you won’t be afraid of flying—I promise.”

“Harder said than done.” Murdock said as he entered the room, sitting down next to Anna who immediately rested her head on his shoulder. “It’s like you haven’t seen me in months, Anna.”

“Maybe because I haven’t.” Anna laughed, reaching out and rustling his hair before she stood up and went over to her laptop, turning it on and accessing all of the visuals from camera she and Hannibal had set up earlier.

Honestly setting up the cameras had made her feel like it was old times—back when she was doing her FBI training _and_ helping her father. The FBI knew who her father was and he liked to know that she was safe…the FBI liked to let her go with him for her field training. In fact the first really big mission she’d been on with her father was about 6 years ago when she was 17—it was also the same mission that Face screwed up that led to the A-Team being created in the first place.

 

_“Dad, this is a ridiculous plan!” Anna told him as they ran. “We can’t just hijack the van and you know it!”_

_Hannibal smiled at her. “We can do this, Anna—we have to save Face.”_

_“Of **course** we do! We **always** do!” Anna replied even though she smiled._

_She was only 17 and Face was older than her, but she’d liked him since she was 13 and that wasn’t going to change for her. Anna gave Hannibal a look when he stood in the middle of the road, the car stopping. The black man in the car looked pretty hardcore and Hannibal pointed his gun at him, Anna watching. She knew her father would never shoot the man in the head, but at the same time, she knew her father well enough to know that he needed to make a point and kept her own gun pointed at the man at the wheel._

_“You ain’t gonna shoot me in the head, Pops. We both know that’s not gonna happen—especially not in front of the girl.” The man explained, and he had no way of knowing that soon he and Anna would be such great friends who had each other’s backs—he certainly didn’t know that Hannibal was going to shoot him in the arm._

_Anna’s mouth gaped open as she jumped. “You **shot** him, Dad!”_

_“Just get in and bandaged him up, Anna.” Hannibal ordered her, smiling as she did just that and then saw his ‘Rangers’ tattoo. “Dad…he’s one of us.”_

_“Col. Hannibal Smith.” Hannibal told him as he got into the passenger seat, holding out his hand._

_“Cpl. Bosco Baracus.” Bosco replied, shaking it._

_Anna smiled and held her hand out too. “Agent Anna Smith—we’re trying to save another one of us.” She smiled when her father showed his tattoo and told Bosco she was in the FBI so she had no such tattoo. “Are you with us? We could really use your help.”_

 

Hannibal walked into the room and glanced at Anna, motioning for her to come over to him and so she hurried over. He had that look in his eyes that told her that what he had to say was incredibly important, and part of him seemed tense—like he was worried about something. Anna knew her father well enough to know that when he got worried, it wasn’t a good sign in the _slightest_ …Hannibal Smith pretty much _never_ got worried.

“Dad, what is it?” Anna asked him softly.

Hannibal pulled out a cigar and lit it. “This isn’t just some random man that you’re hunting down, Anna—the FBI is covering their track.”

“What the Hell is _that_ supposed to mean?” Anna asked even though she knew she should have kept her mouth shut and let him finish.

“This fugitive that we’re chasing? His name is Marshall Trask—the same one we ran into three years ago. He’s in Cuba right now.” Hannibal explained to her, remembering the first time that he and Anna had run into Marshall.

 

_Anna was too weak to struggle against the restraints and she let a few tears slip out as she tried to struggle her breathing against the pain. Marshall had run that knife along her skin and she could feel her blood trickling out—she was more frustrated than hurt. She had been there for a few hours, refusing to talk and Hannibal was on his way, but he hadn’t gotten to her as quickly as he had wanted to._

_“I’m surprised you haven’t broken yet, Anna.” Marshall taunted with a crooked smile. “Then again you’re Hannibal Smith’s daughter—I shouldn’t have underestimated you.”_

_Anna swallowed and bit her lip as a tear trickled out. “I’m not telling you anything, Marshall—you might as well just kill me.”_

_“I’ve thought about it.” Marshall admitted to it. “I just don’t see the point yet…there’s no one here to watch.”_

_“You’re sick.” Anna told him firmly and then fear crossed her eyes. “What are you doing?”_

_Marshall smiled at her as he held up a syringe. “I’m about to make this a **lot** more interesting, Anna.”_

_Marshall smiled at him and Anna shook her head slowly in fear as he neared her and stuck the needle into her arm. She bit her lip and closed her eyes, tears coming out as he pushed the liquid into her bloodstream and Hannibal came into the room guns blazing, Anna losing her focus. Whatever he was doing to her, he was good at it, and Anna had a feeling that Hannibal was going to have to make a hard choice—a choice between Anna and Marshall and they would have to live with it the rest of their lives._

 

Anna made a face. “No! No me hablo español.”

Hannibal smiled a little at her as Bosco, Murdock and Face laughed softly, all of them finding her whining in Spanish rather entertaining. The fact of the matter was that they were simply going after one guy and though he had bodyguards and it would take a while to get in, Hannibal and his team could pull this off. Anna wanted to be part of it and Hannibal would let her, but his fatherly instincts were kicking in and he wanted her to be safe—he didn’t want her in the thick of things.

These fatherly feelings that he had didn’t come ‘naturally’ to him—he certainly didn’t think so anyway. He had never thought of himself as a father and even though he certainly wanted to take care of her and keep her safe, he wanted her to be able to be her own person…he was a father. There was absolutely no way around it as he thought about it, and he wouldn’t change it for the world because she was entirely part of his life.

“I think that you’re speaking Spanish just fine, Anna.” Bosco informed her.

Anna turned to him and shook her head. “Mi español as muy terrible.”

“There are people who can’t even fake the accent—you’re doing fine.” Murdock said as he rested his hand on her shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “You remember most of the Spanish that you’ve learned, right?”

“Te ves molesto. ¿Cómo fue tu día?” Face asked her suddenly.

Everyone in the room turned to him and Anna shot him a look—she should have known that if she whined about it he would force her to remember the Spanish she’d learned before. He had just asked her how her day was because she looked upset and she came up with a response right off the bat. In school she had been in a group of boys for their Spanish skits and she was pretty good at coming up with obscure things right off the top of her head…she just had to make sure she had the right pronunciations and verb conjugations.

“Tuve una terrible mañana. Mi padre pasó por encima de mi gato y ahora me dan ganas de llorar.” Anna responded with a pout, the tears coming to her eyes as she decided to be more in character.

Face started to laugh uncontrollably and the other joined in. “Your father ran over your cat this morning and you want to cry? I gotta hand it to you, Anna—your Spanish is actually pretty good and I enjoyed the effect of the tears.”

“Well no one ever said I couldn’t act.” Anna shrugged with a smile on her face, blotting her eyes on her sleeve and turning on her ear piece. “So what exactly is the plan?”

“The plan is simple.” Hannibal explained nodding, pointing to a map with some pieces on it that represented each of the people in the room. “Face and Bosco are intercepting the new recruit—Bosco will take him out and then Face will assume his identity seeing as how his Spanish is so good. Bosco will double back to join up with me and we’ll start taking the base from the bottom up while Murdock and Anna stay on the comms and hack into their security systems to guide us all through. When everything is taken care of, we bring Marshall—or Juan Cortez as he is going by currently—in alive and pack up and head across the border.”

Murdock smiled and rubbed his hands together. “I love being the escape plan. I assume I have clearance to do whatever I want to get us back across the border in one piece?”

“Like always.” Hannibal assured him as Bosco sighed loudly.

Anna reached over and squeezed Bosco’s shoulder, smiling at him and giving him a reassuring look. He had hated flying ever since Murdock had nearly killed him in an escape across the border, and whenever it was the means of escape—and it usually was given Murdock’s genius when it came to piloting—Bosco got nervous about it. Normally Hannibal and the others left the escape plan a secret, but Hannibal wanted Bosco a little on edge so he could get the job done.

“So are we moving in as soon as possible?” Anna asked her father.

Hannibal nodded at her. “In fact we are.”

xx

“Perhaps Dad’s plan was faulty.” Anna suggested as she moved against her restraints, Murdock shooting her a look from his own.

Murdock took in a breath. “You think?”

“Look, how was _I_ supposed to know that _Marshall_ knew that Dad would be sent to do this and that he’d bring me? I’m not a genius!” Anna protested loudly, blowing her hair out of her face. “Almost there…”

“Your records say you _are_ a genius.” Murdock pointed out to her.

Anna shot him a glare. “You know what? _You’re_ supposed to be smarter than me!”

“I’m crazy!” Murdock reminded her.

The two of them burst out laughing and then looked at one of the guards, both of whom were trying to be alert in case they _were_ just baiting him. In fact the truth of the matter was that they were baiting the guards—the moment they got captured the two thought on their feet and Anna was picking the handcuff lock with a bobby pin. If she could just get it undone, she could convince a guard to come over to her and then get the upper hand and use him as a shield with the second guard, freeing Murdock when everything was said and done. Arguing with Murdock was just a way to keep their attention focused on them and not on what she was doing behind her chair.

Anna and Murdock were being held in a room that was dark and dank, and it smelled pretty bad—that was one of the first things that Anna had commented on, actually. It was a way for her to convince the guards that she was definitely going to be a handful and yet for some reason they hadn’t gagged her yet and she didn’t understand that. In fact she was still trying to understand what was going on with her father and she wanted to know how much that Marshall _really_ knew.

“You two? Shut-up.” The English-speaking guard said to them and then calmly explained to the Spanish-speaking guard that they were just arguing and it was getting on his nerves. “Ellos están discutiendo entre sí. Les dije que se callara, pero si sigue así, estar listos para matarlos.”

Anna looked at the guard who had just spoken. “Hey! I don’t appreciate you telling him that he can feel free to kill us if we start it up again. Forgive me for being upset that my partner over here is _completely_ incompetent at what he does!”

“Hey! That’s not even fair! _You_ were the one who got us in this mess in the first place!” Murdock countered, knowing that she was close.

“Oh, whatever—I hate you.” Anna responded, keeping her smile at bay as she got the cuff undone. “You know what? I’m defecting—come take these cuffs off of me.”

The English-speaking guard laughed at her. “I am _not_ that stupid, Little Girl.”

Anna narrowed her eyes at him. “I am _not_ a little girl and if you come over here…I will tell you everything you need to know about the plan that’s going down right now.”

The guard raised his eyebrows and then shushed his Spanish partner and walked over to Anna slowly. He didn’t want to explain what it was that he was doing, but at the same time he didn’t want to pass up this opportunity either because if she really did want to defect, it was his job to make that happen. Anna knew that he knew that he couldn’t _trust_ her, but that didn’t mean that he wasn’t _listening_ to what she had to say.

“Anna, this is treason.” Murdock warned her. “This isn’t all right.”

Anna shrugged at him, keeping eye contact with the guard. “I don’t like being on the losing side, you know that. Just let me out of the cuffs.”

“I can’t just let you out of the cuffs.” The guard told her, feeling like she was telling him the truth. “You know I can’t.”

“Well then I can’t tell you the plan.” Anna said with a shrug. “You can be the one that got your boss killed—I no longer care.”

“Yeah? You only cared for like a moment anyway, Traitor.” Murdock responded, spitting on the ground in front of him.

Anna shot him a look and the guard took a step closer to her, not seeing what was coming next. Murdock faked a shocked look as Anna kicked her foot up, bringing the guard in closer to her and grabbing his gun as he went to react. She was up and the other guard took a shot, hitting his partner with two bullets in the back, Anna knocking him in the head with her elbow and taking his gun, shooting at the Spanish guard and hitting him right in between the eyes. Then she went over and took the keys off of him, getting Murdock free who went to the English-guard and put his foot to his neck, looking him in the eye.

“You comfortable?” He asked him as Anna pointed the gun at him.

The guard grunted. “Bullet-proof vest.”

“We’re aware, but I have this gun aimed at your head—give us the codes.” Anna said giving him a look.

“Might as well kill me because I’m not talking.” The guard replied stubbornly.

“Murdock? I think we should remove a finger and see what he says then.” Anna told him even though the idea made her swallow—there were only a few things in this world that made her really squeamish and dismembered fingers was one of those things. “Let’s start with a thumb.”

Murdock moved to get a pocket knife off of the effects they’d had taken off of them when they arrived when Anna stood on the guard’s arm in an awkward position. He grunted because he was feeling stunned and knew she’d just kill him anyway, looking at the knife as Murdock came up to him and then looked at Anna. Suddenly he understood— _neither_ of them wanted to do this…neither of them probably would. His fingers were safe, but Anna still had the gun and he couldn’t take them both unarmed.

“Can you hack the system?” Anna asked Murdock.

Murdock nodded at her. “Yeah…yeah I can do that.”

“Then we don’t need him.” Anna replied as she looked at the guard and saw the fear in his eyes. “So I guess this is ‘goodbye’ then.”

“Wait!” The guard explained as she cocked the gun.

Anna smiled a little as Hannibal slid the knife across the neck of the last one of Marshall’s men standing in his way before opening up the big doors in front of him, Bosco at his side. Upon entering he saw that Face was tied up and he suddenly knew that everything was wrong—that everything had slowly been going wrong since he had lost contact with Anna and Murdock. He’d been focusing on the mission even though he wanted to go back for his daughter…Murdock would protect her—Hannibal was _certain_ of that and it was all he had to rely on.

“They have Anna and Murdock.” Face said when they entered.

Marshall laughed and pointed his gun at Hannibal as his men targeted Hannibal and Bosco in swift movements. Hannibal suddenly felt as if he was surrounded and he had to get out of this to get to his daughter—he had to keep Anna safe. Wasn’t that almost _more_ important than catching this criminal no matter what he had on the US government? This man was selling his secrets to other countries and that was _not_ acceptable…Anna was going to have to wait.

“I didn’t think I’d see the mighty Hannibal Smith again.” Marshall laughed as Hannibal slowly lowered his gun. “That and I never thought I’d see Anna again. Damn I wanted to torture her just for old times but I had things to do. I’ll be sure to ask if she screamed or not just for you.”

Hannibal gave him a look. “You don’t _really_ think you’ve subdued her do you?”

Face knew that the conversation happening before him was becoming important but the moment Marshall had mentioned torturing Anna, Face could only feel hatred. Why would _anyone_ want to _hurt_ Anna? There were ways to get things out of her _without_ having to harm her and now Face wanted revenge—he wanted to show Marshall that he didn’t get to just hurt whomever he wanted to. Face took a deep breath and looked up as the doors opened up, Anna and Murdock taking precise shots, Hannibal and Bosco helping them.

As the fight progressed, Anna got to Face and undid the handcuffs, all of them getting Marshall even though Anna got her arm shot. Marshall wasn’t going to let her leave without leaving a mark on her to make a point to Hannibal, and Face hit him in the face with his gun, Marshall looking up at him and laughing. When they all had things under control they took him in to their headquarters, Face patching up Anna while Bosco came to from being put under while they were flying.

“Thanks, Face.” Anna told him, smiling at him as he put the gauze on her shoulder even though Murdock was more skilled to be the doctor of the missions.

Face smiled at her fondly. “Anytime, Anna. I can’t believe that he hurt you like that…that he _tortured_ you. Why did you and Hannibal leave that out?”

“It wasn’t important.” Anna tried as she shrugged, closing her eyes and trying not to cry when he kissed her forehead, resting his lips against her temple.

“Of course it’s important, Anna—I won’t ever let anything happen to you.” Face explained to her, kissing her head again. “I promise you that.”

Anna smiled again as Hannibal watched from the doorway, glad that they were friends, but not really trusting Face with his daughter. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Face—he did, with his life—it was that he knew about how Face got along with women and he didn’t want Anna to be used. Still, he valued their friendship and he was glad to know that his whole team was willing to protect her. He just hoped that Anna would be able to stay away from the kind of missions that he went on…he hoped that she’d change her mind and go for a normal life.


	4. Reunions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a note that there is a time jump this chapter _and_ this moves a little fast because I didn't want to actually write out the whole entire movie you know? I just need to use bits and pieces of it here and there for some past so I can move forward with them to do the big ideas for them that the story is really supposed to cover. Every character mentioned will come back later, I just needed to cement that Anna has her own life and people other than the A-Team also affect her and her decisions/realizations.

“Hey, Anna, it’s just Face. I, uh…I just wanted to talk to you and see how you were holding up…I miss you.” Face explained in his message as Anna played back her voicemails and chewed on her lip, loving the sound of his voice floating through. “Just call me, please? I’d really like to see you.”

Anna paused and then saved the message, turning around to head straight into the kitchen and poured herself some coffee. Aside from Hannibal, Anna hadn’t seen _any_ member of the A-Team face to face in almost two whole years. Her last mission with them had been the one involving Marshall, and though she had spoken to Face via phone and e-mail, she was pretty cut off. Hannibal kept her informed and kept the A-Team filled in when they asked about her life, but her new address a secret. Any of them could find her if they really wanted, however, they were respecting her decision to be cut off for now—even Face mostly even though he felt like he’d lost his best friend.

Two weeks after the incident with Marshall, Face announced that he had a girlfriend—it ended a couple of weeks later because his job was too stressful for her to handle. Anna was there to do shots with him after the break-up, both of them watching movies and then Face slept over in the guest room. A few months after that, Anna was going to pick him up from the airport, but when she got there he was with another woman and Anna decided she was kind of finished. She was tired of being hurt _every_ time she saw him romantically involved with someone who wasn’t her.

Her rather impulsive decision led to a new state, home and friends, but she missed Face. She hadn’t seen him since the airport, and he hadn’t seen her since then either. Anna didn’t know it, but Dace had seen her hurrying off at the airport and since then had wanted to see her but she had been avoiding him. He never thought that he would have to be without her, and he was desperate to have her back in his life no matter what it took—no matter how long.

“You should call him back.” Anna told herself out loud before sipping her coffee. “It wasn’t fair of you to cut him out of your life _completely_ six months ago, Anna. What would Heather tell you to do about this?”

Upon moving to her new home, Anna had met Heather Glenn and Mark Ferris—back when they were still dating each other. They’d both been adding to their degrees by taking extra courses, but then Heather got into the grad school she wanted and Mark thought she was giving up on him. Heather was still in love with Mark, but there were things she wanted to do before settling down and getting married and Mark just assumed that meant they were done…he just assumed that they had to move on and see other people and Heather was going to let him do what he felt he needed to do since they were now officially broken up.

Mark had then been trying to point out to Anna that she was cutting out the world and thought to a certain extent she knew that was true, she didn’t like what Mark was trying to get out of it. He was hurting because his heart still belonged to Heather and they were separated, but he wanted to move on and Anna was the closest to him with problems of her own. The thing was though, in all of the time _away_ from Face, Anna had realized that she would always be waiting for him. None of the boyfriends that she had ever had in her life were Face and that was what ended them—even the fling that she’d had six months before that was strictly based on sex…not one of her finer moments.

“Ready to pick up where we left off?” Mark asked Anna as he walked into the house.

Anna sighed loudly and looked at him. “Way to knock, Mark.”

“When Heather lived here I had a key—I still do.” Mark explained with a shrug.

Anna just nodded and then offered him some coffee, pouring it for him and handing it over after he nodded. The two of them had been having a conversation for the last couple of days about whether or not they should date each other—Anna was firmly against it, but Mark wanted to move on because he was hurting. He thought that by getting back into the saddle he would be able to get over the ache in his heart that Heather left and figured that Anna would want to move on as well. Heather and Mark knew well that Face and Anna were a platonic friendship…Anna was just in love with Face and Face was never going to do anything about it.

“I guess I really have no choice in the matter.” Anna replied with a small shrug, sitting down on one of the bar stools at the island counter. “I just figured that by now we were done.”

Mark shook his head. “We’re far from it…do you still love him?”

“Of course I still love him—I haven’t stopped and I probably never will.” Anna admitted, looking at her coffee cup and shrugging a little.

“Doesn’t it ever bother you that he’s never seen you the way you see him?” Mark asked her slowly, wishing that she’d look up at him.

“Honestly?” Anna asked, looking up and smiling softly. “I can’t see my life without him.”

Mark sighed and shook his head, walking past her to the cupboard. “You’re avoiding the question.”

 

_Anna pushed on Face’s shoulder playfully, as he chuckled, smiling at her as she stuck out her tongue at him. He had a lot of fun picking on her, and she made it so easy for him to do just that when she just pouted and complained in that cute way that Anna always seemed to manage. All Face knew right then was that he wanted to be sitting next to her, and all Anna knew was that he was next to her and he wasn’t going anywhere._

_“Maybe you should stop picking on me and just make a decision.” Anna laughed softly._

_Face chuckled and looked directly at her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. “I only pick on you because I care.”_

_“Oh, well in that case I only make fun of you because I adore you.” Anna told him rolling her eyes and nudging him with her elbow._

_The two of them smiled at each other and then Face rested his forehead on hers when she looked at him, Anna doing her best to seem like she was just fine. He always had a habit of being close to her, and she didn’t mind it in the slightest—besides, she’d caught him in a tender moment and she wanted to cherish it. Especially when he went to stroke her hair and then kissed her forehead and looked her in the eye, Anna knew to just keep quiet._

_“I adore you too, Anna—you’re honestly the only true friend I have.” He explained to her._

_Anna smiled and nodded. “I’ll always be here for you, Face. Let’s watch a musical.”_

_“Oh my God, Anna—you’re going to be the death of me.” Face said with a laugh, grabbing them a blanket as she put in a movie and then snuggled up against him._

 

Anna looked at him and took a deep breath, making a face and then shrugging at him because he was right. She was avoiding the question because she wasn’t sure exactly _what_ to say to it—wasn’t sure _how_ to answer it. It was just that she had never thought about that…not seriously anyway. Anna just wanted Mark to understand that it wasn’t about that…it was about how _she_ felt and whether or not _she_ was willing to live with that feeling or not.

“I’m avoiding the question because it isn’t a fair question.” Anna finally said as she shook her head.

Mark shook his head and pointed his finger at her. “You’re avoiding the question because loving him and shutting everyone else out keeps your heart safe.”

“Okay, first of all if we’re talking about shutting everyone else out maybe we should talk about Heather.” Anna replied, taking a step towards him and holding up her finger to make him focus.

“This isn’t about Heather, Anna.” Mark sighed loudly, closing his eyes and shaking his head.

 

_Mark had a habit of talking on the phone all the time because he volunteered at the hospital and it was a busy place. He was on the phone with one of his co-workers, grinning a little bit when Heather pushed on him and he laid back on the bed, Heather straddling him in one quick motion, her blonde curls bouncing lightly. Mark smiled up at her as she ran her hand over his short, dark hair, smirking as she shifted her weight against him and grinned._

_“I think that **someone** should be attentive to their girlfriend.” Heather told him, giving him a look and motioning to the phone._

_Mark chuckled and hung up with a nod. “Okay, okay, I’m off the phone…I love you, you know that?”_

_Heather smiled at him and her eyes lit up, Mark swallowing because he’d never seen anything so beautiful. Mark ran his fingers through her curls and she smiled at him wider, nuzzling his nose with her own. He just wanted to kiss her and she did too, but she needed to tell him how she felt too because he needed to know—he needed to understand that she would **always** be there for him and she always **wanted** to be there for him._

_“I love you too.” Heather told him before she kissed him, letting his hands start to roam along her body._

 

Anna sighed and shook her head, looking directly at him and closing her eyes. It was a frustrating situation and she knew that this was about Heather _just_ as much as it was about Face. The two of them had things to think about and things to talk about and since they were having this conversation, they needed to finish it. Anna had to make Mark understand that the two of them were just trying to hide from their problems…and they couldn’t hide from them anymore.

“There’s nothing stopping you from going back to her—just because you had to go your separate ways for a little while for grad school and fulfilling some dreams of your own, doesn’t mean she doesn’t still love you. Love is patient.” Anna explained to him, knowing that it was cheesy and yet she felt it needed to be said.

Mark gave her a stern look through the hurt in his eyes. “Don’t quote things to me, Anna. Heather made her choice, and I feel like I should be able to move on too.”

“Not with me…I’m waiting. Deep down you know that you’re waiting too.” Anna said with a shrug, looking at him with sad eyes because she suddenly realized that she would _always_ be waiting unless she did something about it.

Mark nodded as well, taking a deep breath as he let all of her words sink in and looked at the floor. Heather had left but it wasn’t because things in their relationship were going south—it was because she was chasing her dreams at the college she wanted to go to. So what if she was right and he _was_ waiting too? Did that change _anything_?

“But what if Heather isn’t?” Mark asked Anna slowly, both of them looking at each other sadly.

xx

After talking with Mark and trying to figure out what to do with herself, Anna decided that she wasn’t going to run anymore. She packed up her things and took a plane to go and see her father, getting herself assigned to a task she hadn’t been assigned to before so she could be close to him. He was her father and besides…Anna missed the A-Team. She missed the _entire_ A-Team.

The thing about Anna and Bosco was that they had a lot in common. Both of them were multi-faceted and _so_ much more than what people assumed they were just by looking at them at first glance. Bosco was a big strong African man and everyone expected him to be incredibly hardcore even though he was afraid of flying and he had a soft spot for those closest to him. Anna was a young girl who was in the FBI and everyone always thought that she was too pretty to be smart and yet she was one of the best field agents.

What Anna missed most about Bosco was the ice cream runs; Bosco actually _enjoyed_ taking Anna out for ice cream. The two of them would do that after a mission—after Murdock made him his favorite dish to make up for Bosco having to travel by aircraft—and the two would talk about things. They didn’t get to hang out very often, so the times that they did, they had to make it count and it was nice they got along.

Then there was Murdock—Murdock, Anna’s favorite. The two of them were the ‘geniuses’ and they were pretty crazy even though they had their heads out of the clouds. Anna was a big fan of flying and she felt like her life was safe in Murdock’s hands, and Murdock enjoyed helping Anna come up with crazy schemes and he liked being paired up with her for missions. They really enjoyed being with each other and Murdock sometimes felt like her second father—looking out for her was almost second nature.

Murdock had always felt like he had to protect Anna, especially when they went on missions together. Hannibal couldn’t always be with her and when he was paired up with Anna he knew he had to make sure that Hannibal Smith’s daughter was safe and sound. It helped though that he actually enjoyed hanging out with her, missing talking to her for so long and knowing that Face and Hannibal were in a funk without her around more often.

“Anna?!” Murdock cried out when he saw her and her duffle and her purse showing up and she grinned at him. “It’s been a long while!”

Anna beamed and ran into his arms, hugging him tightly. “I missed having a crazy friend!”

“I did too.” Murdock replied, pulling back and looking her over. “You cut your hair.”

“I changed a _lot_ of things.” Anna admitted with a shrug. “Where are the others?”

Murdock pointed around. “They all have their own tents right now, actually. Bosco is there and Face is over there. Your father is talking to Morrison at the moment.”

“Sounds rather important.” Anna said as she glanced towards Face’s tent. “I’ll just have to reunite with Dad after he and Morrison are done talking.”

Gen. Russell Morrison was pretty much the big deal around no matter _how_ big the A-Team was. They followed _his_ orders and they were loyal to _him_ , and for as long as Anna could remember she looked up to him like a grandfather. He was close to her father and he always gave Anna gifts on her birthday and though she didn’t keep in as close contact and she wished, she _did_ —he knew a _lot_ about her and she didn’t mind that. Morrison was like _family_ to her and that was just the way that it had to be.

“I hear Anna.” Bosco said as he came out of his tent, beaming at her. “You know I haven’t really had any ice cream since you up and disappeared?”

Anna laughed and hugged him close. “I missed you too, Bosco. Been keeping out of trouble?”

“Yeah because this team keeps out of trouble.” Bosco teased and then he shrugged and pulled back, looking her over. “It would be nicer to have you around waking up after flying. Did you cut your hair?”

“I hope you guys are noticing because you like it.” Anna said laughing, beaming and then shrieking a little when Morrison and Hannibal walked out of the big tent together.

She ran to them as Bosco and Murdock looked on with smiles on their faces, jumping on her father and then hugging Morrison close. The two men smiled and fawned over her, Hannibal puffing his cigar and then reaching out with his free hand and running his finger through her hair. It was shorter than it had been before—now above her shoulders instead of to her shoulder blades—but it wasn’t _too_ short (it at least hit her shoulders) and Hannibal liked the look. His little girl was growing up and she was changing things about herself, but she still so very much still his Anna.

“Stop puffing your cancer smoke in your daughter’s face.” Morrison said, hugging Anna again. “You need to stop growing, Anna.”

Anna rolled her eyes. “Oh, whatever, Gramps. You guys discussing anything in particular?”

“Just a little mission involving a fugitive.” Morrison replied shrugging. “I’m sure you know just as much about it as we do seeing as how you’re our FBI agent—way to transfer yourself.”

“I missed you guys is all. Besides, what would Murdock do without me? He’s always getting himself caught.” Anna joked, laughing when Murdock protested from his spot near Bosco. “Also, I kind of miss the flying and the ice cream with Bosco and getting to prove that women are _just_ as good at using guns if not _better_ at it than men.”

Morrison smiled and rested his hand on her head. “She got her mother’s spunk.”

“That she did.” Hannibal agreed with a nod.

He took a breath as Morrison excused himself and watched as Anna’s smile turned into a sad one. She thought about her mother a _lot_ , but she also tried hard not to think _too_ much about her because it made her sad. Her mother had been such a strong and beautiful woman who was so full of love and yet she understood Hannibal and that helped when it came to teaching Anna to understand him. Anna’s mother, Claudia, hadn’t been looking for love—she’d been looking to make Hannibal feel better and to prove to him that he was a good man and the tryst had brought about Anna.

Claudia had never been bitter about it either. Since she’d always focused on life and on furthering her career, she had never thought that she was going to be a mother…but when she found out she was pregnant, she was _ecstatic_. She was going to get to experience motherhood and she was stable enough mentally, emotionally and financially that she didn’t need Hannibal. Claudia could give Anna all of the love, support and guidance that she needed without having to have a man in her life, and she was able to teach her daughter to love the man that hadn’t ever thought he’d be a father…then she died in a terrible accident and Anna had to live with her mother’s sister and husband, as well as with her cousins.

“I have some things to take care of but we’ll catch up—you staying close to here?” Hannibal asked her, referring to their little temporary base for the mission.

Anna smiled and shrugged. “I figured I’d just share your tent.”

“You can do that…as long as you don’t mind my cancer smoke.” Hannibal joked, laughing as Anna pushed on his arm and then laughed a little more. “All right, go unpack and we’ll talk soon.”

“Okay, Dad.” Anna said with a nod.

She smiled when her father kissed her head and then headed off, glancing at Face’s tent as Bosco came up to her. He held out his hands for her things and she smiled at him, knowing that he knew what was going on in her head and glad to have the help from him. Bosco headed for Hannibal’s tent to set Anna’s things in there, Murdock giving Anna a reassuring head nod when she glanced at him. That was the last ounce of confidence that she needed, and she headed for Face’s tent.

Bosco and Murdock exchanged glances and then smiled and went their separate ways, both of them quite aware of Anna’s crush on Face. Even though they knew she was closer to him partially because she had met him first, they had understood the teenage girl’s looks in the beginning. Anna always looked at him with such care and admiration…and love—she couldn’t hide that from anyone. The two were even pretty sure that Face knew she loved him on some level, but he had worked so hard to just be her friend that he had ignored it and it was possible that he’d never come around.

Anna swallowed and then took a deep breath, opening up the flap to Face’s tent and walking in, Face looking up. He had been looking over some papers and heard the rustle, not expecting in the slightest to see Anna Smith walking into his tent in worn jeans, boots and a jacket over a tank top. She smiled at him, that love and care in her eyes, feeling like she might cry just because she’d been such a terrible person to him and yet he was grinning suddenly, taking in and liking the hair cut even though he missed having more to run his fingers through—not that he really ever did that.

“Anna.” He breathed out, standing up.

Anna smiled and nodded, holding up her hand and waving slowly. “Hey, Face.”

Face didn’t really know what was coming next, but he chuckled when Anna came at him and jumped on him, wrapping her legs around him. He held her naturally, one hand going into her hair and the other wrapped around her to hold her close to him. She buried her face into his neck, her lips pressed against his skin even though they took no specific form, one of her hands in his hair as well, not caring that one of his dog tags was digging into her breast and his belt was in a slightly awkward position as she held him with her legs, kind of wishing he was shirtless instead of in his tank.

“I missed you so much.” Anna whispered as she ran her fingertips along his scalp. “I’m so sorry I cut you off.”

Face nodded and breathed in her scent: coffee, cucumber melon, vanilla and a hint of Hannibal’s cigar smoke. “I’m sorry too, Anna. I feel like we’ve been so far from each other and I was worried about you.”

“I just needed some space to figure out some things.” Anna explained to him, pulling back a little and looking him in the eyes, their noses touching. “I’m just so happy to see you.”

Before Face had time to take the words in and respond, Anna had pressed her lips to his upon instinct. The kiss didn’t feel romantic to him, but at the same time the few seconds her soft lips were on his he felt calm…even if it was just a ‘hello’ kiss and she buried her face back into his neck. Face decided not to think anymore on it as Anna blushed feverishly, just holding him close, neither of them really wanting to move, but having to eventually anyway.

Anna shifted her legs, Face letting her get down and yet keeping her close to him because she’d been gone for far too long. He stroked her hair and kissed her forehead, showing her that he was still her friend even though part of him still hurt that she’d been out of touch and avoiding him for six months. Phone calls and e-mails just weren’t the same…it wasn’t like visiting her spontaneously. Every time he had tried she either wasn’t home, or he saw her with Heather or Mark through a window or out on their porch and he didn’t want to intrude. He wanted her to have as much of a normal life as she wanted to have—he and Hannibal _both_ did.

“I take it you’re here for a mission?” Face asked her.

Anna looked up into his eyes and smiled at how happy she was just to be able to look in them again. “Actually, I’m kind of here to stop one.”


End file.
